The Haunting Dreams of Dipper Pines
by ashdash2417
Summary: One night, Dipper just started having constant nightmares; all with Bill. Pulling several all nighters has really been taking a toll on him. He doesn't know how much more he can take until he becomes broken- mentally and emotionally. (Takes place after Sock Opera at a non-specific time)
1. The Psychological Terror

**AN: Welp, here we go. My first GF fanfic. I'm actually feeling a bit confident about this one in the story itself, but I'm gonna apologize for the repetition of some words, or if someone's out of character, and so on so forth. :p Anyways, enjoy the story. Hope ya like it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls. Alex Hirsch does.**

 **XXX~~~XXX~~~XXX**

 **The Haunting Dreams of Dipper Pines**

Every night in Gravity Falls, the young twins would do the same routine: eat desserts or any snacks, sugar, sugar, and more sugar in Mabel's case; get in comfy clothes for bed, Dipper in the usual red-orange t-shirt and gray shorts, and Mabel in her purple nightgown; say good nights, and they're out for the rest of the night. Though on most occasions, Dipper would stay up for a few more hours doing his summer readings.

This was one of those rare nights he decided to actually get a good few hours of well earned rest.

Probably not the best idea.

In the middle of the night, he's constantly tossing and turning, tangling himself in his blankets. His face was covered in cold sweat, heart was rapidly beating, and every breath he took was very shallow as if he was suffocating. He tries to wake himself from his inescapable nightmare, grabbing onto his pillows like his life depended on it, knuckles going very white. Unfortunately, something was pulling him back with full force, dragging him back into unconsciousness.

 **XXX**

 _Darkness was what was surrounding him. No Mystery Shack, no Stan, no Soos, no Wendy, no Mabel. Just pure, inky black, darkness. He could barely see anything within two inches, so he wouldn't know if anything was gonna chase him until it's too late. He's usually never afraid of the dark. He didn't mind the peaceful sounds of nightly fairies or the sights of the illuminating moon and the cosmic stars. However, if he were in an incredibly pitch black room with no noise or source of light whatsoever, that would be the time to feel creeped out, which was what he was feeling at this moment._

 _Dipper slowly walks around, trying his best to avoid hitting anything, if "anything" were even there. If there was a thing or two he learned from watching a few horror movies, complete darkness always leads to bad things, especially jump scares. Camping in the middle of the woods overnight, for example. When one person from the group leaves to go to the bathroom, a creepy clown could jump out, grab them and drag them deeper into the dark forest, never to be heard from again._

 _Another example would be working night shifts, alone, in a children's funhouse, surrounded by animatronics. After the show's over and everything closes up, the person is left alone to clean up the entire dining area. One moment, they listen to music while washing a little table. The next, they get devoured by the creepy, broken robotic killers._

 _Haunted houses would be one of the worst places to stay, even for one night. Everything's normal for a little while, but suddenly, somehow, lights would be cut off in every room, phone lines would stop working to avoid any unexpected visitors, and everyone who's trapped in there gets killed in any sadistic way by a living doll._

 _Dipper shakes all those disturbing images out of his head, only for them to keep coming back, making him feel even more frightened. He knows now that something was going to pop up any second, the same fate happening to him. Three… Two… One…_

 _Nothing happened, but before he even had time to think about what went wrong, a twisted sound of laughter was suddenly heard all around him._

 _"Hahahahahahaaa!"_

 _He gasps, knowing exactly who's laugh that was. That high-pitched, shrill cackle was all too familiar to the young boy's ears. That sadistic laugh could only belong to a certain triangle. A certain triangle who made a failed attempt to steal the combination to his uncle's safe. The same triangle who stole his body and used it as some sort of "puppet." This isosceles monster is one of the most powerful demons to ever encounter._

 _Bill Cipher._

 _Knowing what happened last time the dream demon dropped by for a visit, he runs as far away from the laugh as possible, not being as careful with the assumed-to-be items as he was before. He can't let Bill take over his body like last time. He can't experience all the pain and aches that he had endured like last time. And he certainly can't let him hurt Mabel at all costs._

 _He_ won't

 _He starts to run out of breath much too quickly, sides and chest starting to burn, and his legs feeling like they could snap at any moment. Hoping with hope that_ He _is no longer around, he stops to catch his breath, leaning forward with his hands on his knees for support._

 _He didn't get away far enough. The laugh could still be heard clear as day. The same, sick, twisted laugh still rings in his ears._

 _He stands up, finally getting his breath back. "Why are you here, Bill? What do you want from me?!"_

 _"What? I can't come by once in a while to see how my little.. **friend** is doing? You must have a big problem with visitors, Pine Tree." Bill says, his voice sounding dark and demonic when he reached the word "friend," then going back to his usual maniacal, chirpy-sounding self._

 _Now annoyed by his cheery tone, Dipper curls his hands into fists and fights back with a remark. "I have a problem with you being here in the first place! Remember what happened last time I saw you?" Recalling the last event, he felt shivers crawl down his spine. He remembers that very day like the back of his hand. The feeling of being torn away from the physical world. Away from his own body. That day Bill had claimed the said body and had used it for his masochistic pleasures. The cuts and scrapes he left behind for the young twelve-year-old boy to live with._

 _He then tries to suppress his fear all the way into the back of his mind. Now was not the time to be afraid._

 _Now only hearing Bill's voice come from one direction, Dipper turns to face where it's coming from. Once he's out of the shadows,- where was the light even coming from?- the triangle is finally within sight, except he's not in his original form._

 _Another gasp escapes from the young boy's mouth as he takes a few steps back, fear taking over and replacing the initial annoyance at the sight that he never wanted to see again._

 _Bill was in Dipper's body, wearing the outfit that he used for Mabel's play a while back, a little torn on the arms and torso, stained in dry blood. His hair was messier and also had little bits of dry blood tangled in it. However, the most disturbing part about the sight before Dipper was the sinister look on his face, his eyes glowing a bright yellow with black slits, with his wide smile, teeth exposed. Around his forehead was a small purple bruise, cuts and scrapes were on his cheeks, and his neck was covered in dry blood._

 _"Bipper" closed his eyes and started laughing. "You mean this?" The possessed body opens his arms, gesturing to himself. He then walks closer, Dipper going back in each step. "Why Pine Tree! I was just playing a little game called "How Much Fun Can I Have With This Body Until It Breaks." All I did was snap a few bones in half! No biggie." He shrugs nonchalantly. "And speaking of fun…" Bipper snaps his fingers, still showing off that creepy smile. Before he could even process the entire sentence, Dipper was stuck in a locked up cage that was barely a few inches taller than him._

 _The Dipper clone reaches in his jacket pocket and slowly pulls out a small, sharp looking object. Dipper didn't need to ask what the item was by the way it looked._

 _In Bipper's hand was a knife._

 _The young boy used as much strength as he could muster to pry the cage bars apart, but alas, they never budge._

 _"Why not play the game now? And this time, I'll have an audience." Bipper says as he twirls the blade around in his small hands, not even caring that he was already getting several small cuts from it._

 _Dipper wanted to turn his back to him and tell him "no way am I ever gonna watch you hurt my body, you sick bastard," but something was forcing him to stay right where he is. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't even move his hands off the bars! What's worse is that it burns his face to close his eyes for more than a second! He was still as a statue._

 _Bipper made a scolding gesture, followed by tsk noises. "Now Pine Tree, where's the fun at that if you're not even watching the show?" Again, that sadistic chuckle. The noise that made Dipper sick to his stomach._

 _The young boy unfortunately had to watch as his clone raises the sharp object to his own arm. The tip is suddenly brought down, digging deeper into his skin, blood staining the sleeve even more. As he was deliberately cutting himself, the sick, sadistic laugh escapes the demon's mouth, the sound ringing in Dipper's ears. Once Bipper was satisfied, he drags the knife up to the elbow, making a horribly long gash as he does so. After he reaches the elbow, he pushes it in even deeper to the point where he could feel it on his bones._

 _Having enough of the arm, Bipper then pulls the now bloody knife out of his arm and to the stomach. The young boy's eyes widen, getting an idea on what he was going to do next._

 _"No! Stop!" He cried, feeling immensely mortified._

 _Dipper's words fell on deaf ears as the possessed body jerked the knife into the center, splattering blood all around him, laughing at his own pain. The idea of what people would call a hurtful subject being a sheer joy to the demon. Actually living it, however, made it even better. He stabs himself repeatedly in several other areas of the small stomach, making him look like he was close to death. ...Close. Though he somehow still stands like he doesn't have several life threatening injuries._

 _Dipper trembled at the horrifying sight, his face completely devoid of color, mouth and eyes wider than before. He was still holding on to the bars as if his life depended on it, which it did in a way. The only thing stopping him from collapsing is the invisible force Bipper apparently has on him, making him watch the entire scene before his very eyes._

 _"Please stop this!" He mentally shouted, not knowing how much more of this he can take, after swallowing the sudden urge to vomit right here right now._

 _"Oh come on Pine Tree! The grand finale hasn't even started yet." The possessed body says. He was now bloodier than before, his left arm having a long cut from wrist to elbow, the sleeve torn apart. His stomach looked like ketchup was spilled all over it, several holes on the gray shirt. Dipper still wonders how the hell he's still standing. "Don't be such a big baby! It's just blood."_

 _He could barely take it anymore. His entire body was shaking out of pure fright, legs would've given out already if it weren't for the force that's keeping him still. He felt incredibly nauseous from watching what would practically be considered his own torture. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his lunch down. "What do you want from me?" Dipper's voice slightly cracks, holding back tears. Wait, he was getting ready to cry? No, keep the tears back! He must not give in to the demon's game._ "Don't let him know you're afraid. That'll only make it worse."

 _However, he felt like he was about to have a panic attack when the knife was brought closer to his clone's face. His eye in particular. "What I want is for you to not be a wimp and learn to take the pain! It's gonna happen someday, right?" And before Dipper even knew what happened, the knife was slammed into Bipper's opened eye-_

 **XXX**

A small shriek was heard from the left side of the attic. Dipper jolts up from his laying position, drenched in his own sweat. His hand was grasping tightly to his heart like he was about to have an actual panic attack. Expecting to feel warm blood trickle down his shirt, he immediately pushes his hand out, seeing nothing, but his hand. His small, clean hand. He feels his stomach and arm to make sure there were no gashes or cuts anywhere. To make sure it was all just a horrible dream. To make sure it never happened. He sighs in great relief, knowing none of his injuries were real.

He stays in his sitting position, taking deep breaths, letting them out, and repeats, recovering from his mortifying nightmare. Bill Cipher, the powerful dream demon, suddenly reappearing like nothing ever happened? Was there something he wanted? ...Very unlikely at this moment, not even remembering the flying, psychotic dorito asking for anything. Anything but…

The room suddenly looked very blurry. The young boy leans against the wall for support. He decides that if he wants to avoid the triangle at all costs, he should remain awake for the rest of the night.

How long was Bill going to mess with his mind like what just happened? Dipper had no idea, but he knew that there was no way he was going to leave him alone until he got what he wanted, but the question remains… What did Bill want? The laptop was destroyed, thanks to him, so he has no way of knowing what secrets were hidden in that device. The young boy still has the journal in safekeeping, but Bill hasn't mentioned anything about it. Maybe that was his plan. Keep torturing him in his dreams until he gave access to possess his body again so "he" could destroy the journal, just like last time.

 _"Well, I've got news for you, Bill. I'm not gonna sleep."_

With that in mind, Dipper grabbed a nearby book and flashlight, opened the book, turned on the light and kept himself occupied until dawn.

 **~~~XXX~~~**

It was seven in the morning when Dipper sneaked out of the attic, without disturbing his sister, and sat at the kitchen table. He was feeling alright for a while as he was reading his murder/mystery novel, until he was constantly nodding off; on the verge of falling asleep. He suggested to himself that in order to prevent the sadistic dorito from torturing him in his dreams, he was gonna have to go somewhere he won't feel so comfortable enough to doze off.

He officially decided that sitting on a hard wood chair in a room full of food was the perfect place for that. Not only will he be sitting up the whole time, there's also snacks and drinks to give him energy, keeping him relatively awake.

Dipper was taking a sip of his orange juice when he hears slow footsteps coming in his direction.

A few seconds later, Grunkle Stan walked into the kitchen, wearing his red bathrobe over his usual white tank top and green striped boxers. He was ready to start the day off like any other; drink coffee, cook breakfast while his niece and nephew come downstairs to join him, get dressed for work, and so on. What he wasn't expecting was one of the children sitting at the table, already out of bed. What surprised him even more was that it was Dipper nonetheless.

He knows his nephew stays up all night to read, so more likely he'll wake up about an hour after Mabel. He even has days where he sleeps in until noon. The girl would tell Stan that her brother was up really late, apparently losing track of time and was really focused on that book. There were some occasional moments where he and Mabel both wake up at the same time, though the former looking a bit tired- what else was new? So, it was a huge shocker to see Dipper up and about, with no sight of his sister whatsoever.

He walks over to the coffee pot, eyes still focusing on the young child, who was strangely enough in some sort of trance, doing a thousand yard stare. Another thing Stan noticed, as he was making his cup of coffee, was the additional bags Dipper has underneath his usually tired-looking eyes.

"You, uh… doing okay over there, kiddo?"

No answer.

The old conman tries to get his attention again, this time slightly raising his voice. "Kid? ...Dipper!"

The boy in question jumps back a bit, startled when his uncle unexpectedly shouts his name. He looks over to his direction and sees a cranky face with a slight hint of concern. Dipper now realized that Stan was trying to get his attention. "...Y-yes?" He responds quietly.

The old conman raises a brow. "I said 'are you doing okay?' You look like you were having a staring contest with the wall." He says with a small smile and an arched brow.

The young boy looks back down, pulling his cup of orange juice towards himself. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. Just stayed up all night reading is all."

Stan scoffs. "Figures. Only you would pull an all nighter over a book." He then takes a sip from his coffee mug, brushing it off as a "not a big deal" situation, and leaves the kitchen.

Once again, Dipper was left alone with his thoughts. As much as he wanted to tell his uncle about the dream he had last night, he simply couldn't because A: he wouldn't take this seriously; and B: even if he did, what can Stan do about it? Nothing. He knows nothing about dream demons or how much power they possess. He knows nothing about what to do when in a situation he's in now: not wanting to doze off into the comforts of sleep because a good dream will surely turn into the worst nightmare he could ever imagine. As much as Dipper wanted to tell his sister about this, he knows there's nothing either Stan or Mabel could do right now. It's probably going to stay that way for a very long time, or until he's either lost his sanity or all sense of reality.

This is the ultimate battle that he will surely lose.

 **~~~XXX~~~**

Despite only getting around four hours of sleep, Dipper hasn't had too much difficulty staying awake throughout the day. Granted, this is hardly different from any other day in general; the only difference would be waking up super early. There wasn't much to do while working in the shack aside from sweeping the floor in the gift shop, reorganizing the shelves, and manning the register.

With Mabel gone, he pretty much had the whole attic to himself. Instead of working like she was supposed to, the young girl has been talking on the phone with Grenda for hours, until deciding that they were going to have a sleepover. Thankfully, at the latter's house. Once the Mystery Shack was closed, Mabel barely had time to say goodbye before packing the stuff she was taking and running out the door, clearly in a hurry to leave.

Now that his sister was away, Dipper finally has some peace and quiet, though a little too quiet for his liking. Without Mabel on the other side of the room, it felt odd. He was currently reading the same book from last night, continuing from where he left off before he left the room, as he waits for the right time to go back to the kitchen. Stan would probably get suspicious if he finds his nephew sitting in a kitchen this time at night.

It was getting harder to concentrate on the book now that it was dark outside. The dreams were coming back to him like a car crash. The inability to move on his own will, being forced to watch the slow, agonizing torture happening to himself. He remembers the burning feeling from his eyes when he tried to avoid looking. The blood. The menacing look on his possessed face.

All of that were reasons for Dipper's refusal to sleep.

Ten minutes later, he lets out a stifled yawn, eyes starting to feel heavy. His usual tiredness strangely overwhelming him. Every second, his vision is more blurred, his brain becoming less focused on the story, and his head was feeling heavy weighted. He leans against the wall, unaware that his eyes have fully closed.

 **XXX**

 _Dipper slowly opens his eyes, not remembering when he fell asleep at all, and looks out the window, seeing broad daylight. That must've been the most peaceful slumber he's had since he was a small child._

 _The young boy crawls out of bed and opens the door, but instead of seeing the second attic room, like he expected, it was the enchanting sight of nature taking its place. The trees are all fully grown, leaves attached to them so elegantly. The sun glistens from above, blanketing the forest with its array of sunshine. The flowing river streaming away into the lake that lies ahead. It was an endearing sight to take in._

 _"Whoa." He let out in awe at the breathtaking view, not noticing there was a string attached to the outer edges of the attic door after taking a couple of steps. He trips and rolls down into a deep hole he never saw, marking himself in various dirt stains and scratches all over._

 _He recovers from his fall, sitting up and feeling cold stone from the bottom. When he places his hand on his cheek, he immediately jerks it back, hissing in pain. The ground must've done quite amount of damage on his face, as he could see tiny bloodstains on his hand. Once he looked up, he could still see the sun, only now most of the view was blocked by the round inner walls the hole has created. Wait a minute… There was never a hole in the middle of the forest. At least, he doesn't remember digging up any. He gasps in a horrifying realization._ "That must mean…"

 _"Wakey wakey, pains and sufferings, or whatever it is that humans say to get themselves going. Am I right, Pine Tree?"_

 _"B-Bill?" Dipper says, suddenly finding it harder to even speak. He was suddenly lightheaded, and could feel his rapid heartbeat pounding in his chest._

 _The demon in question walks, or floats into the light, visible to the world. The good thing is that he's no longer in his "Bipper" form, but instead, he's back into the triangle he is, top hat and everything. However, he appears to have nothing in his hand. Nothing to cause self-harm, or any harm, thankfully._

 _The dream demon shrugs. "Of course it's me! Who else could I be? Tad Strange? But enough reintroductions, let's play a game, shall we!"_

 _The young boy backs up into a dirt wall, cornering himself as Bill gets closer and closer, the feeling of dread growing from the pit of his stomach. Dipper knows all too well what "games" Bill plays. "Y-you're not gonna force me to w-watch my own death again, are you?" He says, voice cracking._

 _The flying dorito waves a hand off. "Nah. There'll be none of that, though it does sound like a lot of fun! Good thinking, Pine Tree! But no. I've got something else in mind, so why don't you…" He trails off as he slowly brings his hand down, Dipper realizing that he was somehow decreasing the temperature throughout the forest. "...Chill out for a bit!" Then, he lets out that ear-piercing chuckle, amused by his own pun._

 _Dipper violently shivers from the freezing cold, sliding down to the colder ground and hugging his knees in a futile attempt to get himself warm. "W-w-why are you d-d-doing this to m-me?! W-what do you have t-t-to gain?" His voice was constantly shaking even more thanks to the sudden weather change, his teeth chattering almost every other word._

 _Bill rolls his eye in slight annoyance and sighs. "How many times must I say this until it's drilled into that big head of yours: you being in pain is funny! It's almost as amusing as pain itself. The point is: I like to see you suffer!"_

 _The temperature then decreases even more, making it feel much less than 30 degrees. The young boy hugs his knees tighter, shivering more, his bare hands and feet starting to feel incredibly numb. With the way he was currently dressed- t-shirt and shorts- he was definitely going to freeze in such little amount of time._

 _If only Mabel knew where he was. If only Grunkle Stan knew where he was. If they were out there finding him, then somehow, in some way, they could defeat this sadistic monster together, and go back to the way it was before Gideon summoned him a while back. Going monster hunting, listening to Mabel's crazy antics, watching Ducktective on lazy days, finding out about more mysteries of the weird town known as Gravity Falls._

 _The last thing, Dipper thought, was probably how he got into this mess in the first place. He was so desperate to know who the author of the journals was that he literally sold his physical form to the devil._ "The journal…" _The very item that lead him into wanting to know more about this town. The thirst for knowledge that then lead to finding out about the secret bunker the author supposedly built, which lead to the laptop, which then lead to the password, and finally leading to…_

 _Dipper shakes the thoughts out of his head and then concentrates on looking for something to at least give him some warmth. He looks around and finds two decent sized sticks laying several feet away from him. He gathers what little strength and energy he had to crawl over and grab the hard, thin objects before succumbing to hypothermia._

 _Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough. As soon as he grabbed one of the sticks, the yellow triangle levitates both of them high out of the young boy's reach, the latter losing grip, and face planting on the cold hard ground._

 _"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you trying to get these? Here, let me help you with that." He mocks, feigning innocence._

 _His "help" was nothing more than morphing the two sticks into clear, ice-cold water, and letting it fall on Dipper's head, making the child even colder than he already was. The excess water was dripping down his neck and trailing into his shirt. To make matters worse, a sudden breeze blows by immediately afterwards, followed by heavy snow, which is already covering up the ground Dipper was sitting on._

 _"There, now you look even more ridiculous with a wet head." The triangle chuckles as he floats up to the surface. "Well, Pine Tree, I'd love to stay and watch you crumble to your own frozen, decaying death, but I've got business to attend to. Catch you on the flip side!" He bid farewell, taking his hat off and putting it back on only a second later. Then, just with a snap of a finger, the dream demon was gone._

 _Dipper was expecting himself to wake up from his supposed nap, but nothing was happening. Nothing except his body being overwhelmed with the freezing cold blanketing his bare arms and legs, his pajamas barely being of any use to give him protection. His head was helping much less being covered with freezing water. Why hasn't he awoken yet? This couldn't really be happening, despite the fact that everything was filled with color while Bill was around, and not the usual gray and black. He's not really stuck in a cold, snowy hole where no one can find him, right? He must be stuck in this dream and his subconscious isn't ready to wake up._ "Yeah. I'm gonna be awake any minute now." _He waits for a second, and to speed up the waking process, he reaches a shaking hand to his side and pinches the best he can with his numb fingers._

 _Nothing happens, though he can barely feel his fingers against his side._

 _"T-t-this can't be h-hapening.." He mutters to himself, already accepting defeat. This was all a reality. Somehow, his bedroom was magically moved from the top of the shack and onto the ground in the middle of the forest. He really did trip into a hole that somebody apparently dug up while he was asleep. And of course, heavy snow happened to drop by, in the middle of goddamn summer! Thanks, Bill._

 _Speaking of snow, it seems that his uncle isn't even bothered that not only has the weather suddenly changed right out of the blue, but there was also the fact that his nephew has suddenly gone missing. There's not a search party or anything to indicate that a family member has not been seen all day. This clearly shows how much his uncle cares for his well-being. He appears to not be concerned that Dipper, his family and blood, is getting closer to death as time ticks by. It seems that Stan would only care more about Mabel because in several ways, she's more like himself. She has his creativity, his wants to spend time with family, and she's just developing his criminal experiences, which, in her case, was cheating or lying. She was more naïve to the supernatural comparing to her twin brother. It was Dipper who's the oddball out of the three, so he should have to suffer the consequences. Because of his intelligence, because of his thirst for knowledge, and because he simply doesn't fit in._

 _Distant footsteps was heard. Somebody was out here. This was it. This was the opportunity to be rescued. Somebody's gonna get him out of this hole, ending the frozen agony Bill caused. Dipper looked up and used as much strength as he could to speak up. "H-h-hey! H-help-" he barely had his own voice until breaking out into a series of coughs. He must keep what little voice he has together or else it would be all for nothing._

 _Whoever was out there must've heard his extremely quiet call. The footsteps were getting closer. He's saved. What's even better was that, once in eyesight, the young boy can see that this person was one of his best friends._

 _"S-S-Soos. I'm s-s-so glad you're h-here." He says in utter relief as he reached a shivering hand up to him so the handyman could grab a hold, but he did no such thing. He wasn't even looking down at the young, freezing twelve-year-old. Couldn't he see that one of the children was out in the cold, and barely dressed at that?_

 _"S-Soos?" He slightly lowers his hand, worry climbing it's way into his brain. Soos, one of his most trusted buddies, was ignoring him like he wasn't even there. Sure, he was acting like his usual optimistic, innocent self, but he showed no relief of any kind. Just acting like it was his usual day while holding a shovel in his hand, singing a song he made up._

 _"Doo do-do-doo! Burying this gigantic hole." His musical number was soon abruptly interrupted by the oncoming wind. He shivers and zips up his winter coat, blocking any cold from his body. The handyman then resumes his work with a casual comment, "Sure is freezing out here. Kinda strange considering it's the middle of July. Oh well." He shrugs, digging up a pile of snow, and throwing it into the hole, not taking notice that the young child is yelling out in protest._

 _"S-S-Soos! S-stop!" Dipper weakly shouts. Unfortunately, his cry for help falls on deaf ears. The snow was now covering the entire lower half of his body. "Soos. Y-y-you g-gotta g-get me outta h-here." His shaky calls get weaker and weaker, the hypothermia slowly catching onto him, followed by the unconscious state, leading to death. With one final, desperate attempt to get Soos's attention, he quietly says, "S-Soos…," before the snow officially covers his face, leaving him in the eternal, frozen darkness._

 **XXX**

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!" Dipper screams from the top of his lungs, jolting up to a sitting position with wide eyes, his face and chest covered in cold sweat. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. To make sure that whatever happened in his dream did not just happen, he rubs his arms with his hands. The lovely feeling of… feeling. He shivers, suddenly feeling cold. He covers himself with his blanket, restoring warmth.

He guesses it's a good thing Mabel wasn't here, freaking out right now. She definitely would've been on his case, demanding answers until he finally gave way. She would sit on his bed, asking what's wrong. He would tell her about his bad dream as she rubs gentle circles on his back, reassuring him it was just a dream. It would be like that for awhile, then they would both go back to sleep, feeling a lot better. Last time he had to be consoled by his sister was a couple years ago. That night, he dreamed that everyone in his class were ventriloquist dummies, except for himself. He walked into the classroom, and everyone was giving him a sinister look, even the little puppet version of Mabel. He tried to leave, but it was too late. Everyone surrounded him and dragged him into the halls of doom.

Ever since then, he had a childhood terror of puppets. Helping Mabel with her show had made him slightly uncomfortable. But being possessed by an all-knowing dream demon, having him throw the body around like a ragdoll has gotten him really jumpy. That day had brought the haunting puppet dream back into his mind.

Yes, he still gets some nightly comforting from his caring twin sister. Mabel, on the other hand, simply meows herself to sleep when she gets nightmares. Back in Piedmont, the young boy would wake up to the sound of cat noises, thinking somehow, their cat clawed through the door and into the room. He would look over and see her toss and turn, making meowing noises. Occasionally, when she looked like her nightmare was getting worse, he would walk over to her side of their shared room, sit on her bed, and comb her hair with his fingers. It usually helped, along with her frightened meow noise.

He remembers that Mabel is not here right now. She's at her friend's house. He has to calm down all by himself, which he had done quite a few times on dreams like the ones he's experienced for two nights straight. He was also getting older, so he needs to take care of this by himself.

For two nights straight, Bill has been torturing him in his sleep. Sleep: where one is most vulnerable. For two nights straight, Dipper couldn't even think of sleep as a good thing anymore. All he could think of when the words "sleep," "rest," and "shut-eye" register in his head, he thinks of the traumatizing things that the psychotic dorito could possibly plan for him. Whether it be turning inside out, gouging your eyes with a spoon, or scraping the bottom of your foot on a knife, it will happen to him.

But why? Why is Bill doing this to him? As he stated in his dream: "I like to see you suffer!" Was there more to it than that? Or was he really a sadistic asshole and was seeking entertainment by mentally scaring someone? Of all people to mess up, Bill chose him: "Pine Tree." Now another questions remains: How long will this last before Dipper starts to become insane himself. It was a scary concept to think about, but what else was there to do?

 _"I can't keep doing this."_ He thinks to himself. He needs to try harder to not fall asleep. Keep track of the time so he could go to the kitchen instead of reading to stay occupied. Once he's distracted, he loses focus and falls asleep a few hours later. Normally, he would be completely in favor of reading, but when his life is on the line, or his sanity, in this case, reading would have to be for another time.

Looking down at his opened book, he picks it up, closes it, and sets it on the nightstand next to him. As he did so, he looked at the clock, which read "2:30 a.m." He sighs in exasperation as he got out of bed. Now would definitely be the time to go to the kitchen.


	2. Desperate For Help, Trapped in Your Mind

**AN: Okay, I might've accidentally made this seem like a plot story. Sorry, but this is only a one shot, even though it has like two chapters. :p And sorry if the ending seems rushed or crappy or anything like that. (Gotta stop rushing through stories.) Anyways, if ya wanna favorite, follow, or review, you're more than welcome to, and if not, then that's fine, I guess. Also, if you saw, I drew a little cover thingy for this too, and if anyone wants to draw this to fancy it up, then go right ahead. (You don't have to though. Just a thought.) Welp, here's the rest of The Haunting Dreams of Dipper Pines! Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls. Alex Hirsch does.**

 **XXX~~~XXX~~~XXX**

 **The Haunting Dreams of Dipper Pines**

It's been four days since Dipper's second encounter with Bill. After that horrifying incident, he has been refusing to even close his eyes for a second, lest he fall asleep and drag himself into another hellish nightmare. As days pass by, pulling all nighters was a lot more of a challenge than he let on. Since Mabel was gone, he's been drinking dozens of cans of Pitt Cola day in, day out, and when he runs out, he simply walks to the grocery store to buy a couple cases to last a whole day. At one point, after he ran out for the third time, he almost considered taking a swig of Mabel Juice, but decided against it. He's not ready to know what terror the super sweet drink brings after digesting it, and he may never be. Although he was desperate for energy, he won't rely on their intense sugar-load his sister has created.

Speaking of which, it was a good thing she wasn't here right now to see what a mess he's become. Or, an even bigger mess than he usually was. His hair was a lot messier, his blue and white pine tree hat is barely staying on top of his head, and he's put no effort into wearing his navy blue vest, which he has thrown on the floor by his bed out of frustration. His face looks even worse, with the near absence of color and the dark rings surrounding his eyes, making him look practically dead.

Luckily, Stan hasn't grown suspicious about the young boy as he brushed it off as "the usual Dipper," he called it, still thinking he just stayed up all night to read.

As much as he wanted someone to out right tell him they're aware of his strange behavior, Dipper knows he can't just simply cry on their shoulders and spill the information about his dreams, and certainly not about Bill. They don't need to know the trouble he's going through. Especially not Mabel. If Mabel knew any of this, then certainly, the dream demon would bring hell upon her as well, and he would be responsible for the loss of his sister's innocence and sheerful joy everyone's come to love. He would be responsible for how traumatized she would become after all the horrors the triangle put her through. As much as she annoys him at times, he would never want her to be in that situation. This is his responsibility. This is something he has to handle alone.

Today, he was working with Wendy at the register. The first thing she notices is that he's missing his signature vest. Another thing was how either he's nodding off very frequently, or whenever a customer is ready to pay for their merchandise, he seems even jumpier than before, startled real easy. She was very concerned for her younger friend. Of course he's always startled when somebody scares him for the fun of it, or when a monster is right behind him and he wouldn't know until he turns around. But when something as simple as helping out a customer scares him out of his wits, that raises a red flag. Clearly, something was wrong with him, and he's not telling her what.

So she tries to find out herself. "Dipper? Dude, you doing okay?"

Proving there was suspicion indeed, he jumped at the abrupt sound of a voice calling his name. "Wha...?! What? W-What do you mean?" He clears his throat to get rid of his cracking voice. "What are you talking about? I'm doing just fine." He lies as he uncharacteristically leans on the counter with his hand propping his head, barely sounding certain himself.

"Well, for one: you're not wearing your vest." Wendy states, pointing at his shirt. "And two: you look deader than Robbie after a Halloween party. Is there something you're not telling me?" She smirks, trying to add a little enlightenment.

His wish finally comes true, now regretting it the second she brought it up. He thinks of a good excuse to basically tell her everything's fine, which was the complete and total opposite of how he's actually feeling. He can't just bluntly tell someone that he had not one, but four nightmares involving a dream demon. Said demon torturing his mentality to the point of being too scared to sleep. _"Yeah, I'm doing fine. Just had crazy nightmares with an all-knowing, powerful demon who possessed my body at one point. And in those nightmares he's been sadistically torturing the hell out of me, which is why I look like this. Because I'm not sleeping. Also, I think I'm losing my mind."_ Sure, that would totally work. That wouldn't scare her at all.

No, what he needs to do is keep his mouth shut about this, put on a happy mask, and pretend everything's okay.

Hoping she'll buy the false display he's about to put out, he shrugs and tries to use his nonchalant tone, attempting to look casual as he does so, but on the inside, he is filled with so much anxiety and so much exhaustion. "I've just been staying up late for the past couple of nights. No biggie."

The cashier wasn't entirely convinced, but decided to play along for now. "Well, your sister's gonna be pretty upset to see you dressed for the living dead. You might wanna get some shut-eye before she comes back."

Dipper sighs, relieved that she bought the bait. Though the simple thought of sleep sounds very comforting, that very thing is what he's been trying to avoid altogether. He nods and tells her he'll take the time to sleep after work, which is a flat out lie.

 **~~~XXX~~~**

Spending not only one, but four nights at Grenda's house, not having to worry about work and finally getting some time away from her brother (and grunkle) was one of the best things to ever happen to Mabel. They were finally able to squeal about how cute and charming boys are without hearing any annoying complaints from anyone at all. Well, maybe an occasional "could you please keep it down" from Grenda's parents, but they were kind enough to not rat them out like Dipper has done a handful of times. "Mabel, you think you could tone it down a bit? You guys are so loud the whole town can hear you." He once said, only for them to continue their loud enthusiasm, greatly annoying the young boy.

It was great to finally go to someone else's house for a change.

The sleepover would've been even better if Candy were along with them, doing a lot of other shenanigans, such as playing dress up and putting on makeup, posing as celebrities living in Hollywood. Unfortunately, she had to go home sick the first night, having caught the stomach flu.

"Seriously, flu?! Why you gotta ruin everything?" Mabel exclaimed after that fateful incident. Nonetheless, she and her other friend still had a great time, playing the Sev'ral Timez trivia game, reading several romance novels, and watching a charming movie about a high school girl who fell in love with a vampire.

As she was walking in the woods back to her summer home, she thinks about how Grunkle Stan would probably have her do a week's worth of work around the shack due to her being absent. If only there was a way to get out of doing said work.

 _"Maybe I could get Dipper to-"_ her thought immediately stops at the mention of her brother, thinking about how terrible he looked the day she left. She's noticed how he's been out of bed every morning she woke up, which was either a good thing or a bad thing. Good because he was finally not sleeping in for once or only getting up when she does. Bad because- when had she known him to wake up early? He wouldn't wake up for anything, unless it was possibly for the journal. Hopefully that's not the reason he was tired, because if it was, then she was gonna have some words when she steps through that door.

Mabel sighs and frowns, understanding how invested Dipper is when it comes to the old book. About finding out who the author was. About learning the strange and paranormal secrets in Gravity Falls. He has been so devoted to the journal that at one point, he spent all day and all night, trying to crack every single code within the pages, and has learned all the ciphers until he knew them by memory. She completely accepts his inspiration and his motivation, but does not approve of how much sleep he's getting, or lack of sleep, thereof. There is a time when the brain needs to work, but there's also a time where everything needs to be put on hold and to take a good long break.

The young girl finally reaches the shack with a smile on her face, feeling content to step into the comforts of the old Mystery Shack. "Home sweet home. Filled with grumpy old men and crazy, paranoid brothers."

She opens the door and walks to the living room, a wide-eyed shock replacing her smile as she sees an extremely dead-tired Dipper in the armchair with a can of soda in his hand, his body slouching a little. If she thought he looked horrible four days ago, then she couldn't compare that to what he looks like now, with the additional bags under his eyes, which were fighting to stay open, his messier hair, and the look on his face as if it had no soul. The blank, emotionless stare, barely concentrating on the TV like he had nothing better to do with his life.

As she takes a good look at what her brother has become, she realizes that he's missing his vest and that his hat was laying on the floor in front of him. Although they would both normally get into their pajamas this time of the evening, it's very unusual to see him look like this; lacking the two pieces of clothing that make Dipper look like… Dipper. To let everyone know that this is who he is. This is how he dresses, and how it tells him apart from the world. Now, without his self-marked clothes, he's just turned into a depressing mess in less than a week. He's just a lifeless soul, sitting in an armchair in a dark, empty room, staring into what may as well be nothing, throwing his life away.

It pained Mabel to see her own brother look so miserable and tired. Surely, he didn't stay up for four nights straight just to read that journal.

 _"Bro-bro, what happened to you?"_

So, in an attempt to persuade him to get some rest, she sets her backpack on the floor and walks over to him, stumbling across empty cans.

"Uh, hey, broseph. What'chya watching?" She calmly asks, looking over to the TV to see two chubby babies in a wrestling ring, one of them sucking on a teething toy and the other crawling towards him in an attempt to steal the possessed item. The ring itself was surrounded by a huge crowd applauding and screaming for the infants, chanting _"Fight! Fight! Fight!"_

She faces him again with a raised and concerned brow, knowing this wasn't something Dipper would approve of. The boy was never a huge fan of fights, or sports in general.

He was still staring at the TV with the blank expression, not answering the question at all. He looked like he was about to be out cold any minute, but before he had a chance to close his eyes, he finally moves, by only a little. He lifts the hand with the soda can to his face, takes a big gulp, and puts it back down. "Nothing. Just… stuff." He mumbled under his breath, sounding too tired to even speak. The voice sounded hollow, like his soul wasn't in him anymore… again. This time, it wasn't a masochistic demon possessing him, but it was the wave of depression, hiding him from society, making him numb.

Well Mabel isn't having a dead-living brother for the rest of this summer.

The young girl places her hands on her hips, trying to look and sound authoritative, but failing miserably. "Dipper, how much sleep have you gotten while I was gone?" The only reply she received was an aggravated, zombie-like glare. Knowing now he's not feeling up for games at the moment, Mabel throws away her authority act in an attempt to sound calming and make the young boy seem less angry. "…You didn't sleep at all, did you? After what happened a few weeks ago, you still choose not to sleep? Maybe it's time you take a break instead of overworking yourself like you always do, Mr. Works-a-lot."

For the first time since she came home, Dipper finally moves his entire body, getting up off the chair to a complete stand, drink still in hand. He sighs in exasperation, rubbing his tired eyes with his free hand and mumbles again, but having a more annoyed tone in his voice. "Mabel, I'm not in the mood to listen to this right now." He heads for the stairs, but before proceeding, he was interrupted by the young girl, yet again.

"Wait..." She turns around, ready to follow him, but stayed where she was when she received a deadly glare. "Dipper-"

"What?!" He suddenly shouted.

That stopped her dead in her tracks. The tone, along with the face, being thrown at her in such a negative and hateful way frightened her. She was never used to this kind of tension coming from her brother towards herself. The very first time she's ever seen him this angry was a very long time ago. For what reason, she couldn't remember. Very seldom does he ever shout at her in a hostile way. They always get along like best friends, and have annoyed each other, but in a light manner. They would always move on from their grudges, forgiven so easily. To see Dipper have such an outburst like that was like a bullet to the wound: sudden and painful. Very painful.

And so, to avoid more trouble than what she's already caused, she takes a couple silent steps back, feeling small and intimidated.

Dipper immediately feels guilty for his outburst when he saw his sister back away like a scared puppy. He knows she's worried about him, and she has a right to be, but she shouldn't be involved in the dark path he's already taken. She probably knows he's not mad at her, but rather very stressed for a different reason entirely. Hopefully, she'll never know the reason.

He sighs and turns away from the young girl, the tired, dreadful, and guilty look all over his face as he places a hand on the rail. "Look, Mabel. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just… had a very rough day today, and I would appreciate it if I have some time alone. Please." With that final word said, he climbs up the stairs with his head down, feeling exhausted, miserable, and slightly tearful.

Now left alone in the dark room, Mabel's grown more worried about her depressed brother. She knows now that there is something incredibly wrong with him, and it's more than just a simple old, torn-up book, and she's determined to find out what. With that resolve, she heads for the stairs, not heeding Dipper's plea to not be bothered.

Once she reaches the attic door, she takes the time to listen to the dead silence lingering in their shared bedroom. There's no noise of page-turning, or Dipper's teeth gnawing on pens to let her know he was in deep thought. No. Just the cold, dark, hollow silence, which was very concerning. That silence was broken as soon as her fists gently knocks on the wooden door. "Dipper?"

No response.

She knocks again, but firmer this time to let him know of her presence. "Dipper, is there something you need to tell me? What's the matter?" She stops and places her hand on the door, giving him time to say something. Anything to let her know he's okay, there's nothing wrong him, and like he just said: he's just had a very rough day. She reaches for the doorknob to turn it, only to receive clicking noises. He's locked her out.

 _"He must be sleeping."_ She thought to herself, trying her best to outweigh the several cons with her one little pro. She sighs, turning to head back downstairs, but not before giving one final look at the door, her isolating brother on the other side.

What she doesn't know, however, is that Dipper is sitting on the floor in the middle of the bedroom, with his eyes covered by the dark shade from his bangs, and his knees held close to his chest, his arms hugging them tightly. He tries his hardest not to make noises of any kind as silent tears fall down his cheeks, holding back a tight and desperate sob. He was so tired not only from exhaustion, but tired of everything else altogether. The haunting dreams, being dependent on several cans of Pitt Cola to keep him awake only for a little amount of time, the overwhelming fear being the only thing he truly feels, making him unable to eat anything without feeling sick to his stomach.

Once he heard his sister's footsteps get quieter until they were gone, he finally cries out what he's been holding in the entire time. The more tears he was trying and failing to hold back falling down his face like a waterfall.

He had no idea how long he was going to keep this up until he mentally and emotionally loses it. One day, his sister might find out, which would be dreadful on both their parts, and she may tell Grunkle Stan about this, or even their parents. If the latter were to ever hear about how their son has practically lost his mind, they would definitely send him to therapy, and he would not be looking forward to that regularity. Having to take medicines just to be "normal" would bother him to no end. The horrible taste lingering in his mouth would remain for hours. Going to see psychiatrists on a weekly, or even a daily basis, would be even worse. A waste of time just to tell a stranger your life story and how you've been doing for the past several weeks.

Thus, nobody needs to know about his problem, but himself. Saves the trouble for everyone, and he wouldn't have all the attention.

But no matter how long Bill decides to torture him like this, no matter how long it takes for him to break, as long as Dipper still has his mentality, he knows the demon will continue to traumatize him in his sleep, and in his mind. Bill will not stop until he is broken.

 **~~~XXX~~~**

After being locked out of the bedroom, Mabel has decided to actually give Dipper time to himself while waiting in the living room, watching one of her favorite movies she brought from home, _"Random A' Capellas in High School,"_ trying to distract herself from the concerning thoughts about the boy upstairs. It was about three hours ago when they had that heated argument. The flames in the young boy's tired eyes after being scolded for not getting any sleep. She's never felt that scared since she got left behind at a dark night graveyard when she was eight years old. That was a feeling she hoped she'd never experience again.

But the way Dipper was looking down in despair when he went up the stairs had made her feel awful for what she did. Not only was she oblivious to how he was feeling at the time, but also inconsiderate. She still doesn't know what's wrong with her unusually depressed brother, but somehow, in some way, she was going to find out.

Now would be the right time to do so.

Officially set on what to do, she heads for the attic.

Once she got there, she checked the doorknob again to make sure it wasn't still locked. Fortunately, she was able to open the door with ease, finally seeing their home-like bedroom. However, before she even made a peep, Mabel looked over to the left side and saw her brother's messy head gently laying on his soft pillows, his blanket being pushed to the edge by his feet.

Not wanting to disturb his peace and letting him rest, like he was supposed to, the young girl decides to have a talk with him tomorrow when he's fueled and ready for the day. She takes her shoes and sweater off, revealing a solid blue t-shirt she was wearing underneath, and climbs into her own bed, ready to sleep herself. She turns over and faces her sleeping brother, and before she goes off into Dreamland, she covers herself up with her pink blanket and whispers "Good night, Dipper." She finally closed her eyes and doses off into Dreamland.

Unbeknownst to the young girl, he was awake the entire time.

 **~~~XXX~~~**

Once he knew his sister was out for the night, Dipper waited until it was dark outside to leave the attic. He sat up from his bed, feeling like his body was on fire from the lack of sleep, and looked at the sleepy face belonging to Mabel. The sweet and innocent face he's known all his life. He remembers how whenever he was feeling down for whatever reason at all, she would be there for him to tell her what was bothering him, what upset him, or if he just wanted to tell her something in general. There were even times when it was the other way around, which happened more often than not. No matter what, Mabel was always there for him.

Not this time.

The young boy prepared for the worst as he got out of bed, his legs feeling painful and not being his best friend at this moment. He opens the door, making a squeaky noise that was too loud in this extremely quiet room, and leaves to head downstairs.

Mabel was having a weird, but amazing dream, but the last thing she remembered before waking up to a squeaky noise was a magician showing her the inside of an old log cabin, which was covered in Smile Dip from one side of the room to the other. The room itself was very bright and colorful, unlike the outer parts of the cabin.

When the young girl opened her eyes, she could still hear the door opening, along with sounds of feet hitting the hard wood floor, which then goes away right afterwards. She looks over to the other side of the room to see that her suspicion was confirmed: Dipper was gone.

She looks over at the clock, which read 12:17 a.m. She climbs out of bed and follows after him to find out why he would be awake this time at night.

When she reaches the living room, she sees the young boy the same way he was when she came home earlier: slouching on the chair and looking very tired. The only difference was that he was missing a soda can in his hand. She walks over to his direction, places her hand on the arm of the chair and quietly asks, "Is there any room for one more?"

She only expected to receive yet another deadly glare, but instead, he simply scoot over to give her enough room to sit comfortably, tired eyes still focused on the television.

She took the kind offer and snuggled in between the arm and the expressionless child to her right. She sat there quietly for a minute while anxiously fiddling with her fingers. If there was something Dipper was not telling her, she's going to find out, despite what she told herself earlier. The young girl faces her brother and starts it off the best she can without causing another outburst from the latter.

"Dipper?"

No answer.

"Dipper, I just want you to know that… if there's anything you need to talk about, you can tell me. I'm here for you." She suggests, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder in hopes he'll say something.

Instead, she was met with silence again.

"Dipper, is… is there something wrong?"

The boy in question finally responds. First, he sits up to get more comfortable, then answers her question, but not the one she was looking for. "No…" He sighs. "There's nothing wrong. I'm… just having a bad day. That's all." Normally, he would tell her all about "what's wrong," but not this time. If only she would understand he was protecting her from the fate he's been put through.

"Well, o-okay then." She tells him as she moves her hand from his shoulder to her lap, choosing to let it slide for now.

They both said nothing else while watching the TV, only letting the barely audible noise keep them entertained.

Fifteen minutes later, Mabel feels some weight added to her right shoulder. She looks over to see a sleepy Dipper leaning on her, the dark rings around his eyes from staying up all night, how pale he looks. Although he normally doesn't get a lot of sleep, it's almost like she's not even looking at her brother anymore.

 **XXX**

 _Dipper was on his way to the Mystery Shack, feeling the chilly wind blow by as he was walking in the middle of the dark woods, slightly shivering from the cool weather. Normally, he wouldn't mind the scenery, but because of recent events, how could he remain calm when Bill could pop up any second? Because of the psychotic dorito, he was never able to actually relax, the gnawing fear of being tortured consuming his young brain. His fear still lingered when he finally reached his home._

 _He stopped and stood still, unsure how to feel about seeing the place that normally made him feel happy and content. Relief because he's made it home unharmed, and he'll be safe with his uncle and sister. Or anxious because of the possibility that he's never safe anywhere, not even in the comforts of his own home, whether it was here or in Piedmont. It could be dangerous anywhere._

 _After what felt like hours, he let out his breath he didn't know he was holding in, and took hesitant steps to the old building in front of him._

 _When the door was within reach, the young boy places a shaky hand on the knob and turns it. Once he got a view of the inside, He realizes how strangely quiet and completely dark the house was, compared to how it usually is. Nobody was around at all; Mabel wasn't making new sweaters or playing with Waddles anywhere, Stan was nowhere in sight either, keeping her company. The gift shop was empty as well, lacking the sound of customers shopping around or the_ cha-ching _from the cash register. It's as if the shack was abandoned._

 _Dipper walked into the house with growing dread, because he knows something bad was bound to happen, but he had no idea what. When he entered the living room, there was finally some kind of civilization. However, what he saw made him gasp and scream in utter shock._

 _Stan was sitting in his chair, wearing his pajamas, but he was completely lifeless, with blood soaking all over his midsection and a deadly sharp knife sticking out of his chest. His face looked the worst of all: his eyes looked dull and his mouth was wide open as if he was screaming bloody murder before succumbing to death._

 _The young boy backed away fearfully with shallow breaths, his whole body shaking, and his heart feeling like it was about to burst out of his chest. All he could feel right now was the fear that a murderer could be in his house, searching for their next victim. But who would ever do this? Why would anyone brutally murder Stan of all people? Is it just the Pines family that's in danger? The last question he was about to find out._

 _He dashes upstairs in hopes that Mabel is okay, hoping that she was left alone. She's probably safe. Maybe the murderer hasn't found her yet, or she's chased them off with her grappling hook._

"Please, be okay. Please be okay." _He mentally repeats to himself. Never in his entire life would he ever want to see or hear anything awful or inhumane happening to the closest family member he has._

 _"Mabel!" He slams the door to their room right when he called for her, sweat draining down his face out of dread and anxiety. His eyes widen at the next thing he sees, which is worse than anything he's ever imagined._

 _His sister. His twin sister at that, was in the center of the room, dropped to her knees with the scarlet red pooling around her. She was clutching her stomach like her life depended on it, which was actually the case, her hands, her whole stomach, covered in her own blood. Her face was filled with terror, hurt, and betrayal all at once, with tears running down her face._

 _Everything about this was wrong in so many ways. Mabel, the usually cheerful and crazy twelve-year-old girl, was trying to stay alive by hugging herself to keep more blood from spilling out of her small, fragile body. His sister was severely injured, and in their bedroom no less. He wasn't even there to protect her, and look where it got both of them. The sight of Mabel crying in agony was like looking at a cold and terrified animal; something as innocent as a newborn child suffering in the hands of a sadistic asshole, wherever they've gone._

 _Instead of running to her aid, Dipper stood still, too scared to even move an inch from where he's at now._ _"M-M-Mabel?! W-what happened to you? Who did this?"_

 _She just stared for a few seconds, the slight look of confusion on her face, then gave him an answer he was not expecting at all. "Why, Dipper?" She asks, her voice sounding too tearful for his liking._

 _Why what? "Why" has he come to save her from her own death? "Why" didn't he come here sooner to do anything? "Why" is he just standing there like he's doing right now? He's still too frozen to move, but he spoke up, killing the silence that's been lingering for what felt like hours. "What do you mean?" He asked, just as confused as she was._

 _The voice was barely audible enough for anyone to process what he just said, but she still heard, regardless. Her eyes widen in shock after hearing him ask such a question, like he was missing the obvious answer. "Why would you do this to me?" She_ _shouted_ _, but not without releasing a sob while looking down at the ground._

 _"What are you talking about?" He immediately received his answer once he noticed how cold and wet his hands suddenly felt, feeling even more scared about finding out the reason. The young boy looked down to see blood soaking his entire bare hands, from his fingertips all the way down to his wrists. And in one hand, he held the exact same knife he found in Stan's chest._

 _His eyes widen, too terrified to even accept the reality of it all. It hardly makes sense. One minute, he was walking home in the middle of the woods, and the next, he stands by their bedroom door with his hands covered in his sister's blood. There was no way he could've murdered his own family. He had no reason to. He's never even thought of the concept of it. Everyone knows he would never do anything like this. He's "too much of a nerd," Mabel would put it. Now, for some sick, twisted reason, he has done it. It was him who was the sadistic asshole he was looking for. It was him who ended the lives of the ones he was closest to. It was him who's gonna pay for what he's done._

 _Then suddenly, he feels as if he was on the brink of insanity because next thing he hears is the laugh coming from Mabel of all people, but the voice did not belong to her. "Mabel" gave him a maniacal glance, revealing the black slit pupils to the yellow eyes. He knows all too well who this is now._

 _Bill._

 **XXX**

"AAAHHH!!!" Dipper shouts as he jolts into a sitting position, suddenly feeling very sick. After telling himself he was not going to sleep, he has failed and done so anyway, earning yet another horrible nightmare for him to feel traumatized. He quickly looks at Mabel's direction to make sure she was okay. Thankfully, she was still alive and unharmed.

"Mabel!" He didn't have time to say anything else before wrapping his arms around her in an embrace, tears falling down his cheeks as he was crying. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

Seeing this odd behavior coming from her brother of all people, the young girl slowly returned the hug and spoke to him as calm and patient as she can. "Well, of course I'm okay, Dipper. Why wouldn't I be?" Then, she couldn't resist finding the root to his problem. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. "Seriously, bro, what is wrong with you today? First you get angry for some reason, then you shut me out, and now you're crying? This isn't like you. You never randomly cry like this, especially from a dream."

He takes his time to calm down, then tells her, "I… I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I just can't." His voice cracks, feeling more tears threatening to fall out. The young boy hugs his sister tighter for comfort. He couldn't relive that scene. It was too graphic to explain in detail. The red hands, the painful look on his sister's face. Her near death. It all felt too real.

The young girl rubs circles on his back to soothe him and let him know that everything is alright. "Of course you can. I've told you earlier: if there's anything on you mind, you can tell me. I'm right here." She reassures him. "And I know something's on you mind, bro-bro. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been acting like a zombie all day, or crying for that matter."

As they break their hug, Dipper looks at his sister; the sincere smile she's showing him, telling him to say what's on his mind. As much as he wanted to, he doesn't know what Bill would do to her if she ever knew about the dreams he's had for the past six days. That smile is what he wants to see every day of his life. The smile shows how happy and grateful she is to be alive and have him by her side. If he ever told her about this, then surely, he would never see that smile again.

"Dipper…"

That voice, that tone of warning, was what suddenly triggered him. He could no longer hold back the pain he's been enduring for almost a whole week. The struggle for staying awake, not being able to eat anything, the feeling of isolation consuming him, not knowing when all of this will end. All this time, he's had nobody to help him through it, nobody to clutch onto when he felt so miserable. It was unbearable. Now, his sister was reaching out to him. She's offering to help go through whatever trouble he's facing alone. Desperate for help, he hugs her again, letting out all the emotions he's been suppressing all week. The dread, the anger, the sadness, and the never-ending fear.

Mabel calmly shushes him, telling him "It's okay, Dipping Dots."

This is what he missed. The comfort the young girl gave him when he felt bad, or scared, or whenever. The reassurance she gave him when he felt doubtful. The sibling love that nobody could ever give to him, but Mabel herself. There was even the smell of cupcakes that held onto practically all her clothing, which made him feel like they were back at Piedmont.

After seconds of doing the shushing and reassuring mantras, as much as he didn't want her to know, the young boy finally adjusted, wiped away his tears, and told her about everything. He told her about the dreams, Bill, his refusal to sleep, his dependence on sodas all day, every day, and how much he feels like he's stuck into the abyss of insanity.

It took a while for the young girl to absorb all the information, feeling upset because he didn't tell her sooner, guilty because she never knew any of this to begin with, and sympathy because he's dealt with all the trauma alone. "Dipper, I… I'm so sorry." She places a hand on his shoulder. "I had no idea that… this was why you've been feeling all… depressed lately. I thought… You've felt like this all week, and you didn't tell anyone?"

The boy next to her pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them, feeling a little guilty himself. "I didn't wanna put you guys in danger, especially you. I don't know what Bill would do if anybody found out about this, and..." He sighed, then looked away. "I'm sorry, Mabel."

"No. You don't apologize, mister." She orders, going back to her playful self. "You have nothing to be sorry for. In fact, if I even hear the word come out of your mouth, you'll be in a whole lot of trouble when I give out-" She then reaches for his underarms in attempts to tickle him. "Tickles!!"

For the first time in what felt like forever, he had a smile on his face, laughing while blocking his sister's hands as they were reaching for his underarms. Now that all the weight was off his shoulders, he finally felt lighter, happier even, not having a worry in the world. Well, he's still a bit worried, given the circumstance. He may still have nightmares in the future, but this time, he'll have Mabel there to comfort him, to be there for him when he needed it most. She'll support him through it all.

And he's never felt better.

 ***The End***


End file.
